


Roomates?

by halfsourlefty



Category: Chef RPF
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Possibly Future Smut, roomies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-12-20 22:17:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21064091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfsourlefty/pseuds/halfsourlefty
Summary: claires going through a rough patch and brads there to pick her up again and help her as much as he can. but inevitably he knows he loves her but he hopes he won't have to tell her that.





	1. Chapter 1

Claire had the test kitchen to herself over the weekend to trial some of the recipes for her new cookbook, everything is just becoming so tedious to her lately with all of her different projects overlapping, it's not her efficiency but she found there was so much to do in so little time.  
she had tried to make this pie base seven different times but the crust wasn't laminating, "God damn it!" she huffed out of frustration smacking the iron sheet pan against the marble counter, "Saffitz try a 2/3 full attitude!" brad chuckled standing over at the dehydrator. she was clearly not in the mood to joke and threw him a sharp look, "Not now brad I don't have time for childishness" she muttered in a tone even she thought was a little too cutting, "sorry claire' he nodded leaving a bit too hurt.

Even though she had been cold to him he knew she was exhausted and stressed out, they'd been friends for five years since she had started working in the test kitchen, over the course of what seemed like forever through their playful and flirtatious bonding hed come to learn a few things about little half-sour.  
brad came back into the kitchen about an hour later with an iced tea and a fresh brioche from the bakery not far from the trade center he knew she loved, "A peace offering" he smiled coyly putting her things on the countertop, Claire was viably softer this time, "I'm sorry brad I didn't mean to snap or upset you." She looked up with tired but sorry eyes, "don't worry about it, I know you're stressed out and tired" he grinned, "so what's going on saffitz?" he asked leaning against the counter.

Claire chuckled shaking her head, "Don't worry its just stress!" she dismissed it cleaning up her counter, brad knew her too well to know whatever it is isn't completely eating away at her, "Claire I'm being serious whats going on with you?" Brad asked gently putting his hand on her back. She looked up at him with glassy eyes, "I'm running out of time to finish this book, I'm trying to film multiple things at once my apartments shower won't work and the ceiling in my bedroom is leaking, the new video is going onto day four and its nowhere near solved, I haven't slept in three days and well- never mind but I'm just stressed." she ranted choking up not noticing that somewhere during her splurge of ranting shed rested her head on his chest and gently let a few tears loose.

Brad looked down at Claire and felt a pang of hurt in his chest, seeing her frustrated or irritated wasn't new to him but this time she wasn't frustrated or hurt she was exhausted and broken, without thinking he knew he was going to do anything and everything to make sure she's ok and has a little bit of sleep, "Claire come stay with me in jersey for a bit just until it gets fixed its quiet there and I don't mind cats so you can bring that little guy along! I got a big kitchen so you shouldn't have any trouble staying home and testing recipes for the book, so my spare room is all yours for as long as you need" he tried cheering her up hoping she would stay with him, hoping it'd be a bit of stress relief.  
"Brad are you sure I didn't wanna get in the way" she tried to defend but he still insisted, "why don't you finish up here and ill help you pack and you can spend your first night in jersey" he grinned hugging her, she laughed knowing this was a losing battle," alright let me just wipe this counter and put the pans away" he chuckled and rushed to get the pans finding their allocated spots.


	2. Chapter 2

Brad carried a couple of boxes into her new room at his small house in jersey, "Make this your own space, decorate a Lil if ya want" he grinned and opened the cat carrier letting her black cat roam the house freely, "thanks brad you're a champ!" she grinned up at him, "gotta tell you though I'm surprised how feminine your house is!" she teased him gesturing to the flowers in the dining room she could see from her bedroom door, "can't a guy have a few roses to enjoy to himself!" she threw his hands up in a jokingly defensive way. She nodded, "well you have great taste Mr macho man!" claire poked his chest and reached into her backpack pulling out a DVD handing it to him, "you couldn't shut up about this movie so I thought we could watch it, you got snacks?" she rambled on taking her shoes of almost falling over.  
Brad steadied her,   
"jelly legs watch it we can watch the movie but arent you are worn out?" Brad asked sitting her on the bed and took her shoe off, "no! I h need food it 8 pm and I'm starved!" claire pouted almost childishly, "well then lady what are you cooking us for dinner?" he tested standing up tilting his head, "I have a tub of dough I was making into a loaf, how do you feel about a BLT Saffitz?" he asked.

she liked the sound of that and made her way to the kitchen sitting at one of the stools on the opposite side of the bench he was working at, "ill watch the all-mighty leone attempt sourdough on his own this time!" she laughed tying her hair up getting a little more comfortable.  
he plopped the dough onto the un floured bench and started pulling at like it was mozzarella stuck to a pizza, "brad are you serious!" she laughed hysterically watching him trying to scoop up the dough. claire shot down from her seat and pushed him aside grabbing flour from the open pantry and smacked the dough down, "Brad come here so I can show you" she gestured with her head for him to stand next to her.

He knew better than to interrupt claire when she was on a roll so he paid as much attention to what she was saying as he could, he was pretty sure she'd said something about rising and yeast. he couldn't remember what shed said because he was focused on her facial features, he didn't know much about makeup but he could tell that her cheeks weren't blushed they were just naturally pink. Brad was completely in his own daydream until he elt a heavily floured hand make contact with his face.  
"Earth to Brad!" claire giggled lightly tapping his cheek with a hand full of flour, she instantly regretted it when his hands shot to her sides attacking her ticklishly, "I'm sorry I surrender!" she tried to get away from him and used her floured hand at the best attempt to push him with what energy she had left from laughing she had left. He had cornered her between the sink and the counter, "all right Saffitz ill let ya off this time" he laughed.

Neither of them moved immediately, Claire almost wanted to wrap her arms around him but resisted as much =as she wanted to, they didn't want to break the b=small contact they had. it seemed as though it had lasted forever but in reality, it was 5 seconds.  
Claire was the first one to move away and slipped out and swept the flour from the counter into her hand and then the sink, "you should wash up probably" she smiled handing him a cloth," sorry I got it in your beard" she chuckled turning back to doing what she was doing and looked down at the dough, "FELIX!" she screeched looking down at the paw prints imprinted into the dough, "Claire don't worry we can order pizza it wasn't gonna cook well anyways" he picked Felix up petting him. claire glared at the cat playfully "he's lucky he's adorable." brad nudged her pesteringly, "me or the cat?" brad asked jokingly. she didn't reply she just rolled her eyes and sluggishly threw herself onto the couch.

After cleaning the mess off of his face and out of his beard he joined her watching the movie, "Brad do you want to order?" claire asked quietly and got no response, "brad?" she asked sterner but looked up from her phone to see him with his hat in his lap and his head rested on the arm of the couch as he calmly slept.  
she thought the better of it and turned the lights off only leaving on the light of a lamp in the corner of the room, she was a bit tired herself deciding to get into bed, "What the hell was that before?" she quietly said to herself still confused about how exactly she felt about him.  
She had briefly drifted off but she just couldn't sleep it dint feel right she felt bad for not waking brad up, she got a blanket from the end of her bed and snuck into the living room quietly, he was still sleeping heavily snoring like a baby. she was too tired to care about any consequences of her actions, she mindless ley laid next to him and threw her arms around him falling asleep peacefully.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things get a Lil bit x rated for a moment but also hella cute

Brads heavy eyes slowly opened and was more than shocked at the pleasant site he woke to, Claire was cuddling Felix with her legs tangled with Brads, he was surprised not only that they both somehow had a blanket over them but also stunned by the fact Claire had bypassed her bed but decided to lay with him falling asleep. He saw it almost criminal to wake her seeing how comfortable she was, he didn't want to wake her at all but he gently reached up tucking a silvery lock of hair behind her ear.  
although Claire hadn't woken Felix sure had and slipped from under her arms to curl up at their feet, almost instinctively Claires arms wrapped around Brad as she gently pressed her soft features against his neck, seeing Claire so comfortable and relaxed bought peace to him, but to also have her so close o him caused a lump in his throat.  
all though he had never given her or anyone else indication he had strong feelings for her, he had always cared for claire but the love he had for her was rapidly growing to a point he realized he loved her. he really loved her.

he stayed completely still and decided to give in and hold her, he felt the small puffs of breath against his chest change and panic ripped through him realizing she had just woken up, she let out a small yawn and groan. He was stumped he didn't know whether to let go or keep holding her a million scenarios raced through his head but was quickly relieved when she tightened her arms and a small groggy, "morning" peeped out of her. he moved back a little to find her looking up at him through her thick lashes.  
she was a little shocked herself but decided to just roll with it, this isn't how she normally would have acted but around him, she knows she can be vulnerable. she trusts him. she always has. "comfy?" he chuckled brushed a little more hair from her face, her arms reached up wrapping around him tight, "very" she smiled sleepily.

"what do ya say I make pancakes and then we get to work huh?" brad smiled propping up on one shoulder breaking the contact a little but found Claire's hand just moved to his chest, she let a small disappointed pout mark her face, "well why don't we call Adam and say we've both got colds?" she asked sitting up. he rolled his eyes "what are we gonna do all day huh?" he chuffed she looked around trying to find a quick answer," let's go shopping I need a new dress for this event Carla and Andy are dragging me along to for the magazine" she smiled softly hoping he would agree.

he found it so hard to say no especially with her big doe eyes, "alright, but pancakes first!" he sat up climbing over her. she slowly got up and walked over to the fridge, "Brad leone be honest did you use a cup for the juice?" she asked seriously looking down into it, he looked over to her like a teenager in trouble "Well um I don't like cups!" he gave her a guilty smile.

She didn't want to look too annoyed so she let pout a heavy puff of breath and cracked a beer open, brad spun around from the stovetop where he was making pancakes, "hey hey hey its only 10 in the morning !" he laughed taking it from her and holding it above her head so she couldn't reach up to get it, "Brad just give it back!' she strained up to reach it. He considered being nice but instead brought it back down and drank from it " here ya go saffitz!" he chuckled handing it back to her, "brad!" she frowned and wiped top off and drank it.

he plated up their fresh cooked breakfast and sat at the table bantering with Claire, "I'm gonna have a shower then we can head out?" she asked picking their now empty plates up. Brad agreed, "I'm just going to do a few touch-ups in the garden while you get ready" he patted her on the back.

brad put his cap on and closed the back door behind him, Claire felt a sense of relief to finally two seconds to herself to process everything that had happened between them.  
she calmly got into the shower and picked up the shampoo and washed her hair, 'Waking up next to him felt so natural' she slightly chuckled to her self and washed the soap out of her hair. she soaped up a small cloth running it over her arms when it got to her chest she closes her eyes stepping further under the water, for a second she had forgotten they were her hands, not brads. 

she turned the water off and slicked her hair back looking around for her towel, "brad!?" she called out seeing if he was inside so he could grab her a towel, she got no reply and covered her self with her sleep shirt like a towel and dashed to the linen press wrapping a towel around herself, "Almost ready claire?" he asked as she had barley covered herself, "just about!" she smiled coyly

Brads face turned bright red when he'd seen her, he had just about seen her naked even though she was wrapped in a towel he could make out every single curve and crevis under the fabric barrier, "when do we leave?" she asked crossing her arms under her breasts to keep her towel closed.  
He pulled his wandering eyes up to meet hers and noticed the dark shade of red her cheeks were and her bite marks pressed into her lower lip, " fifteen minutes sound good?" he asked as his voice sound oddly strained. 

Claire had seen how he looked at her, she had no plan to say anything but she was going to have fun of her own, she moved her arms down slightly letting the towel drag and exposed a generous amount of her pale cleavage, "ill be ready!" she smiled and internally screamed with joy and panic at the same time watching his face gets redder and his eyes glued to her soft exposed skin. she turned around to walk back to her room and ever so slightly pretended to readjust the towel letting it pull up to the edge of her behind flashing him the backs of her thighs.

Claire had dried and brushed her hair, she had decided to put a skimpier pair of undergarments on not only for /the though if brad gets a glimpse it could be fun also she was trying on dresses which were bound to be a bit tight and she didn't want lines under her dress. she grabbed her handbag walking out in black yoga pants and a flowy tank top.  
Brad was glad he could finally breathe and think coherently but he knew it was going to be hard not to have tainted thoughts about her all day.

Brad turned to her while he was driving, "do you wanna get drive-through coffee?" he smiled, "sure we need one!" she laughed leaning her head against the back of the chair.  
he pulled up ordered and paid for their coffees and handed claire the cup tray as he drove, brad stopped the car with a sharp halt in the parking lot after hearing a screech coming from claire. he turned to her to see one of the coffee had spilled down her lower front and her lap.

"shit claire are you ok!?" he panicked looking for a handkerchief and without thinking grabbed tissues wiping her thighs and between them, over her stomach and above her crotch. Her breath caught in her throat as his hands traveled all over her thighs and abdomen, his fingers brushing against the layers of material covering her sensitive center. the pain from the coffee was nothing compared to the ache between her legs.  
he wiped down the side of her thigh and stopped as soon as he realized were exactly his hands were, "sorry claire if I made ya uncomfortable I was just trying to dry you down" he panicked pulling back.  
she didn't want him to know he was rapidly doing the opposite of drying her but she assured him it was fine and to keep driving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter WILL be smutty I can promise you that
> 
> also, this fic will be uploaded at least every second-day cuz um there's a big lack of smutty/ any claire and brad fanfics lately


	4. Chap 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapters pretty shittyyyyy but sorry hopefully things will get better in the next chapter and I'm alssoooo is it just me ore does anyone else in the fandom rp?

He helped her out of the car and made sure she was ok., "Brad don't worry im fine" she laughed reasurringly.

She pulled him along the busy pathway of the mall and into a shop filled with dresses, she was a very patient person when it came to Brad but today he was testing her patience because everytime he saw a dress that was shiney he'd try and get her to try it on, she picked out a few long sleeve dresses that came  
just up to her knees, "aye claire i found a cute dress for real this time!" 

He held up a black bodycon dress with a slit to the hip, "Brad I am NOT wearing that!" she scoffed turning away and walking towards another rack of clothing, "cmon Claire at least try it on!" he whined giving her puppy eyes.

She reluctantly took the dress from him with the other two she picked "can you sit outside the dressing room? so you can tell me how they look" she asked a bit self consciously.

He followed her sitting out side the dressing room. first she tried on th the pink flowy one and came out to show him, "its nice Claire!" he tried to tell her in a convincing tone, "ugh I know its horrible and the one with sleeves wont go up at the back" he shrugged, "show me the other one then" he shrugged as she reluctantly went back in to the cubical and put the dress on. 

his eyes almost burst out of his head when he saw her. the dress fit well and snug in all the right places and the slit up her thigh was driving him nuts, "Claire you look amazing" he smiled looking her up and down. she turned around to look at herself again, " are you sure its not skimpy? I feel like a hooker!" Brad just laughed at her remark "no you look amazing i think this is the dress!" she laughed aand went back into to changing Rooms to change back into her own clothes.

they paid for the dress and walked down the mall strip, "so where are we going now?" he asked, Claire smiled up at him, "I think he should go look at suits! Don't think I've ever seen you in one!" She laughed, "what is this some kinda revenge?" He pointed as he was dragged into a store by her.

She was stronger then she looked and he knew better then to talk back to Claire and just let her do her thing.

She looked up and down a few mannequins in the store, "how bout this not a full penguin suit but just a nice dress shirt and some pants?" She slyly picked up a bowtie, "bit maybe one of these?" He nodded knowing it would make her happy and went along with it for her entertainment.

Before he knew it he was being showed into a dressing room with a tight blue checked dress shirt , a light brown paper of dress pants and a little brown bow tie.

Brad poked his head out from the small dressing room, "can you give me a hand I can't tie the bow" she squeezed into the dressing room pressed flush against the wall and him, "uh sure give me a second" she reached up beginning to tie his bow and looked up at him softly, "you look adorable!" She giggled, "but I think I want my lumberjack back" 

He chuckled, "so no bowtie?" He asked almost excited, she resend her hands on his chest, "nope just you and your beanie" she chuckled.

He watched her eyes flicker from his mouth back to her own hands, "so we gonna talk about this?" She sighed motioning inbetween them, "about what Brad?" She asked playing dumb.

He rolled his eyes and moved his head down kissing her softly hoping she wouldn't reject him. Instead of rejecting him she reached up linking her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss by pressing up against his large frame, "we should probably go back to the car" she said rushing them out of the mall

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully, you guys like the start of this next chapter will be claire kind of settling in with brad and finding a strange comfort. 
> 
> (also uhhh follow me on Insta Tumblr and twitter @halfsourlefty )


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